Jonathan Haynes (who became "Joseph Hinse") & Marie Pausé
Read the fascinating story about how two brothers living in Haverhill, Massachusetts, were kidnapped and taken to Canada in 1696 by the indigenous Abenaki. Both Haynes brothers became known as "Joseph Hinse" and chose to remain in New France. They are the ancestors of thousands of French Canadians today.
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Joseph Hinse & Marie Pausé
Discover the fascinating story of two brothers living in Haverhill, Massachusetts, who were kidnapped and taken to Canada in 1696 by the indigenous Abenaki. Both Haynes brothers became known as "Joseph Hinse" and chose to remain in New France. They are the ancestors of thousands of French Canadians today.
Jonathan Haynes, son of Jonathan Haynes and Sarah Moulton, was born September 3, 1684, in Newbury, Essex, Massachusetts, USA.
Birth of Jonathan Haynes in Newbury in 1684 (Ancestry)
Location of Newbury in Massachusetts (map data © 2021 Google)
Kidnapping
A few years after his birth, Jonathan's parents moved their family to the village of Haverhill, about 9 miles west of Newbury. On August 15, 1696, when Jonathan Haynes [father] was harvesting in sight of his house in West Parish while his four children were picking beans, a group of Abenaki attacked the village. Jonathan and his children are taken prisoner: Mary (19), Thomas (16), Jonathan (12) and Joseph (7).
New England lives in fear
Attack on an English post by the French and the Indians in 1690, drawing by an unknown artist (Archive.org)
In the decade leading up to the Haverhill raid in 1696, there were numerous attacks on English settlers, as well as on "Indian" villages. These attacks were carried out as part of King Philip's War, then King William's War and finally Queen Anne's War. As a result, the villagers of New England lived in constant fear of retaliatory attacks.
The prisoners were brought to Penacook (now Concord) in New Hampshire, where they were separated. A group of Abenaki brought Jonathan Sr. and Thomas to Maine, where they managed to escape. On February 22, 1698, Jonathan Sr. and one of his neighbors, Samuel Ladd, were killed by the natives.
“Haynes and Ladd, who lived in the western part of the town, had started that morning, with their teams, consisting of a yoke of oxen and a horse, each, and accompanied with their eldest sons, Joseph and Daniel, to bring home some of their hay, which had been cut and stacked the preceding summer, in their meadow, in the extreme western part of the town. While they were slowly returning, little dreaming of present danger, they suddenly found themselves between two files of Indians, who had concealed themselves in the bushes on each side of their path. There were seven of them on a side. With guns presented and cocked, and the fathers, seeing
it was impossible to escape, begged for “quarter.” To this, the Indians twice replied, “ boon quarter ! boon quarter ! “ (good quarter.) Young Ladd, who did not relish the idea of being quietly taken prisoner, told his father that he would mount the horse, and endeavor to escape. But the old man forbid him to make the attempt, telling him it was better to risk remaining a prisoner. He cut his father’s horse loose, however, and giving him the lash, he started off at full speed, and though repeatedly fired at by the Indians, succeeded in reaching home, and was the means of giving an immediate and general alarm.”
Two of the Indians then stepped behind the fathers, and dealt them a heavy blow upon the head. Mr. Haynes, who was quite aged, instantly fell, but Ladd did not. Another of the savages then stepped before the latter, and raised his hatchet as if to strike. Ladd closed his eyes, expecting the blow would fall —but it came not —and when he again opened them, he saw the Indian laughing and mocking at his fears. Another immediately stepped behind him and felled him at a blow.
”The Indians, on being asked why they killed the old men, said that they killed Haynes because he was ‘so old he no go with us;’ —meaning that he was too aged and infirm to travel ; and that they killed Ladd, who was a fierce, stern looking man, because ‘he so sour.’ ”
Thomas was captured again. He remained a prisoner for over a year before being released. The Indian chief allegedly gave him an ornamental cane as a sign of respect for his good behaviour as a prisoner. This cane, about four feet long and broken into three pieces, is said to be at the New England Historical Genealogical Society in Boston.
Arrival in Canada
Meanwhile, Jonathan, Joseph and Mary were taken to Canada. The following winter, Mary was redeemed for 100 pounds of tobacco and returned to Haverhill. Jonathan grew up among the Abenaki for over ten years. It was during this period that he was baptized into the Catholic religion by a missionary priest and became “Joseph” [the baptismal certificate no longer exists]. This leads us to suspect that his brother Joseph was probably in another village. Around 1706, Jonathan (now Joseph) gained his freedom, but remained in New France.
« Abenaki couple », 18th century watercolor by an unknown artist (Ville de Montréal)
In May 1710, two “Joseph Hins” appeared on letters of naturalization granted by His Majesty King Louis XIV to a large number of English Catholics. The first Hins lived in Cap Saint-Ignace, while the second lived on the Beaupré coast. According to the letters, the Hinse brothers could now enjoy all the rights and privileges that a Frenchman by birth would have. However, they could not leave New France without written permission. [Sadly, there is no indication that the brothers ever met in Canada, or even knew of each other's existence there.]
Extract from the 1710 French letters of naturalization (Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec)
The name "Haynes" in French Canada was written Hince, Hinse, Hin, Hinsse, Ins, Ince, Inns, etc.
Marie Pauzé, the daughter of Jacques Pauzé and Marie Jobidon, was born on November 4, 1694. She was baptized the same day in Montmagny, Canada, in New France. [Pauzé was often spelled Posé.]
1694 baptismal record of Marie Pauzé (FamilySearch)
Marriage
Joseph Hinse and Marie Pauzé appeared before notary Abel Michon on October 2, 1712 to draw up a marriage contract. The couple married the next day in Montmagny. Joseph was 28 years old. Marie was 17 years old. On the marriage contract, Joseph is the "son of Jean Ince and Engelique inse". On the marriage record, he is "son of the late Jean Hins and Angélique Holkne of Hevrel (or Heurel) near Baston". According to several historians, Hevrel or Heurel is Haverhill. [The name Angélique would be a mistake; despite this inconsistency, historians believe that Joseph Hinse was indeed Jonathan Haynes of Newbury.]
The marriage of Joseph Hinse ("Hins") and Marie Pauzé ("Posé") in 1712 (Ancestry)
Legal Age to Marry & Age of Majority
In order to marry in the time of New France, a groom had to be at least 14 years old, while a bride had to be at least 12. In the era of Lower Canada and Canada-East, the same requirements were in place. The Catholic church revised its code of canon law in 1917, making the minimum age of marriage 16 for men and 14 for women. In 1980, the Code civil du Québec raised the minimum age to 18 for both sexes. Furthermore, minors needed parental consent in order to marry. In New France, the age of legal majority was 25. Under the British Regime, it was changed to 21. Since 1972, the age of majority in Canada has been set at 18 years old.
Marie Madeleine Hinse (1725-1767)
Marie Angélique Hinse (1726-1727)
François Marie Hinse (1729-1816)
Marie Louise Hinse (1731-1814)
Clément Hinse (1734-1820)
Joseph and Marie had at least ten children:
Joseph Hinse (1714-1762)
Jean Baptiste Hinse (1716-1794)
Alexandre Noël Hinse (ca. 1718-1787)
Augustin Hinse (1720-1749)
Marie Josèphe Hinse (1723-1776)
The Seigneurie
The seigneurie was a large piece of land granted by the Governor and the Intendant to a seigneur. The seigneurial system was established in New France in 1627 and abolished in 1854. In this system, the seigneur divided his lands between “censitaires” (settlers, or inhabitants), who could then clear the land and cultivate it, as well as erect buildings on it. Each portion of land was called a “censive”. Most of these trapeze-shaped lots were along the St-Lawrence or other river, with one narrow side facing the river or a road.
Modern satellite image of the St. Lawrence River, clearly showing the old seigneurie plots (map data ©2020 Google)
The censitaire tenant paid an annual rent to the seigneur, and also paid to have his grain milled at the seigneurie’s gristmill. In addition to these payments, he paid for “cens”, a rather symbolic payment which indicated that the habitant’s land was at the bottom of the feudal hierarchy and could not be sub-licensed. These payments of “cens et rente” meant that the habitant was the proprietor of his land, and could therefore donate it as part of his inheritance, rent it, or sell it, as long as he paid “lods et vente”, taxes equivalent to 1/12 of the sale value.
The seigneur did not have many responsibilities towards his habitants. He was obligated to build a mill for his tenants, and they in turn were required to grind their grain there and provide him with one sack of flour out of every 14 produced. The seigneur also had the right to demand a specific number of days of forced labour (called the “corvée”) of his habitants and could claim rights over fishing, timber and common pastures.
On December 13, 1741, an inventory was drawn up of the goods of the community of Joseph and Mary, “of the parish of St-Thomas.” Three days later, they transferred their movable and immovable property to their children.
On August 7, 1742, Joseph and Marie sold a house on the banks of the Rivière du Sud (on the south side) to Joseph Gendron (their son-in-law), Augustin Hinse and Jean Hinse.
Joseph Hinse died at the age of 60 on March 28, 1745. He was buried the next day in the parish cemetery of Montmagny.
1745 burial of Joseph Hinse (Ancestry)
Marie Pauzé died at the age of 86 on June 25, 1781. She was buried two days later in the parish cemetery of St-Mathieu in Beloeil.
1781 burial of Marie Pauzé (FamilySearch)
Commemorative plaque in Montmagny (BillionGraves)
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Sources:
Marcel Fournier, De la Nouvelle-Angleterre à la Nouvelle-France (Montréal, Société généalogique canadienne-française, 1992), 141.
André Lachance, Vivre, aimer et mourir en Nouvelle-France; Juger et punir en Nouvelle-France: la vie quotidienne aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècles (Montréal, Québec: Éditions Libre Expression, 2004), 124-128.
Ernest-L. Monty, "Les deux frères Hins", Mémoires de la Société généalogique canadienne-française, Vol. XVIII — No 3, July-August-September 1967, 149.
Programme de recherche en démographie historique (PRDH), Université de Montréal (https://www.prdh-igd.com), entry for Joseph Hinse and Marie Pauze, union 11260.
"Fonds Conseil souverain - BAnQ Québec", Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (https://advitam.banq.qc.ca/notice/400045), "Lettres de naturalité accordées par Sa Majesté", 1 May 1710 – 31 May 1710, reference TP1,S36,P463, ID 400045; citing original data: Pièce provenant du Registre des insinuations du Conseil supérieur de Québec (10 Mar 1691 to 20 Feb 1714), volume C, f. 47v-50.
"Québec, registres paroissiaux catholiques, 1621-1979", digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G99W-DC27?i=10), baptism of Marie Posé, 4 Nov 1694, Montmagny > Saint-Thomas > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1679-1785 Abjurations 1787-1869 > image 11 of 584; citing original data: Archives Nationales du Quebec, Montréal.
Ibid., https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L99Q-QCC7?i=308, burial of Marie Pausé, 26 Jun 1781, Beloeil > Saint-Mathieu-de-Beloeil > Index 1792-1876 Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1772-1795 > image 309 of 648.
"Massachusetts, U.S., Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988", digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), birth of Jonathan Haynes, 3 Sep 1684, Newbury, MA; citing original data: Town and City Clerks of Massachusetts. Massachusetts Vital and Town Records. Provo, UT: Holbrook Research Institute (Jay and Delene Holbrook).
"Registres paroissiaux et Actes d’état civil du Québec (Collection Drouin), 1621 à 1968", digital images, Ancestry.ca (https://www.ancestry.ca/), mariage of Joseph Hins and Marie Posé, 3 Oct 1712, Montmagny; citing original data: Gabriel Drouin, comp. Drouin Collection. Montréal, Québec, Canada: Institut Généalogique Drouin.
Ibid., burial of Joseph Hins, 29 mars 1745, Montmagny.
Parchemin, Société de recherche historique Archiv-Histo, "Concession d'une terre située en la seigneurie de la Rivière du Sud; par Jean-Baptiste Couillard de Lespinay, seigneur en partie de la Rivière-du-Sud, conseiller du Roi et son procureur au siège de la Prévôté et Amirauté de la ville de Québec, demeurant en la ville de Quebec, faisant pour lui que pour Louis Couillard, co-seigneur de la Rivière-du-Sud, son frère, à Joseph Insse, habitant, de la seigneurie de la Rivière du Sud.", 20 Aug 1716, notary A. Michon.
Ibid., "Inventaire des biens de la communauté de Joseph Ainse et Marie Pozé, de la paroisse de St Tomas.", 20 Aug 1716, notary A. Michon.
Ibid., "Cession de biens meubles et immeubles; par Joseph Ainse et Marie Pozé, son épouse, de la paroisse de St Thomas, à Joseph Ainse (27 ans), Jean-Baptiste Ainse (25 ans), Alexandre Ainse (23 ans), Augustin Ainse (21 ans), Marie-Josèphe Ainse (19 ans), Marie-Madeleine Ainse (17 ans), François-Marie Ainse (13 ans), Marie-Louise Ainse (10 ans) et Clément Ainse (7 ans), leurs enfants", 16 Dec 1741, notary P.-F. Rousselot.
Ibid., "Vente d'une maison située sur le bord de la rivière du Sud du côté du sud; par Joseph Ainse et Marie Pozé, son épouse, de la Riviere du Sud, à Joseph Gendron, Augustin Ainse et Jean Ainse", 7 Aug 1742, notary P.-F. Rousselot.